U.S. patent number 3,662,905 [Application Number 04/625,539] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-16 for storage pallets and drive means thereof.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hitachi, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Tetsuo Kitamura, Kaoru Mizuno, Shoichi Nakao, Kazuhiro Sakata, Akio Ueno, Takenhiko Yasuda, Kyunojyo Yoshikawa, Takeo Yuminaka.
United States Patent |
3,662,905 |
Mizuno , et al. |
May 16, 1972 |
STORAGE PALLETS AND DRIVE MEANS THEREOF
Abstract
A horizontal circulation type of storage equipment having a
plurality of horizontal rows of article carrying pallets arranged
in a manner to provide a vacancy of pallet at one end of each of
the pallet rows so that successive and alternate transfer of
pallets can move a desired pallet to a predetermined station. Drive
means for successively and alternately transferring the pallets in
their longitudinal and lateral directions, plural-storied storage
equipment consisting of a stack of the above storage equipments,
storage equipment provided with lift means, and coupling means for
the pallets are described herein.
Inventors: |
Mizuno; Kaoru (Katsuta-shi,
JA), Kitamura; Tetsuo (Katsuta-shi, JA),
Nakao; Shoichi (Katsuta-shi, JA), Yasuda;
Takenhiko (Katsuta-shi, JA), Ueno; Akio
(Katsuta-shi, JA), Yoshikawa; Kyunojyo (Katsuta-shi,
JA), Yuminaka; Takeo (Katsuta-shi, JA),
Sakata; Kazuhiro (Katsuta-shi, JA) |
Assignee: |
Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo,
JA)
|
Family
ID: |
24506562 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/625,539 |
Filed: |
March 23, 1967 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Dec 7, 1966 [JA] |
|
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41/11477 |
Oct 14, 1966 [JA] |
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41/95069 |
May 24, 1966 [JA] |
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41/48661 |
May 24, 1966 [JA] |
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41/48660 |
May 2, 1966 [JA] |
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41/40456 |
Jan 11, 1967 [JA] |
|
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42/1769 |
Apr 19, 1966 [JA] |
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41/24841 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
414/237; 104/163;
74/464; 213/75R |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H
6/24 (20130101); Y10T 74/19977 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
E04H
6/24 (20060101); E04h 006/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;238/122,123,137,138,281
;287/64,65,103 ;198/85 ;74/464,465
;214/16.14D,16.1,16.14C,16.12 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
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1,246,910 |
|
Oct 1960 |
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FR |
|
719,154 |
|
Mar 1942 |
|
DD |
|
74,245 |
|
Nov 1960 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Forlenza; Gerald M.
Assistant Examiner: Johnson; R. B.
Claims
We claim:
1. A horizontal circulation type of storage equipment having a
plurality of rows of pallets each capable of carrying an article,
said pallets being arranged to provide a vacant space at one end of
each of the pallet rows so that successive and alternate transfer
of pallets in their longitudinal direction and in their lateral
direction in a manner to fill up such vacancies will effect
movement of the article carrying pallets to a predetermined
station, comprising longitudinal transfer means positioned at each
end of the pallet rows for effecting the transfer of said pallets
from one row to an adjacent row, and lateral transfer means
including a guide groove provided on the lower face of each pallet
at right angles to the direction of lateral travel and a pair of
pivot arms in each pallet row pivotable at the center thereof about
a respective pivot point and having guide rollers mounted on the
respective ends thereof for engagement in said guide grooves, and
drive means for imparting unidirectional rotary movement to said
pivot arms so as to cause direct transfer of said pallets by one
lateral transfer pitch of the pallet in the lateral direction by
180.degree. rotation of said pivot arms, said guide rollers being
mounted to make movement in said guide grooves in response to the
rotary movement of said pivot arms to convert the circular movement
of said pivot arms into linear movement in the lateral direction,
said drive means including means for selectively effecting
simultaneous rotation of said first and second pivot arms in
opposite directions to progressively advance said pallets in the
lateral direction with continued rotation of said pivot arms, each
pair of pivot arms including first and second pivot arms pivotable
at the center thereof with the guide rollers mounted on the
corresponding ends of the respective first and second pivot arms
engaging in a common guide groove, said pivot arms each having a
length equal to the width of a pallet so that said lateral transfer
pitch is equal to one pallet width, thereby providing for
engagement by the rollers on respective ends of a pivot arm
simultaneously with guide grooves on adjacent pallets.
2. A horizontal circulation type of storage equipment according to
claim 1, wherein said longitudinal transfer means includes endless
chains in meshing engagement with a pair of sprocket wheels, drive
means connected to one of said sprocket wheels for driving said
endless chains, and a plurality of movable rails fixedly mounted on
said endless chains and having a length capable of carrying one of
said pallets, and guide roller means including guide rollers
secured to said movable rails for supporting said pallets on said
endless chains, in which wedge-shaped stoppers are provided on the
end of said movable rails to prevent drop-off of said pallets
during the longitudinal transfer.
3. A horizontal circulation type of storage equipment according to
claim 1, including coupling means for coupling one pallet to
another pallet disposed adjacent thereto, said coupling means
comprising a U-shaped frame provided on one side of said pallet and
a plate-like frame provided on the other pallet for engaging in
said U-shaped frame, said U-shaped frame being provided with a
cut-out for releasing the coupling therebetween when said
plate-like frame is operated to make a vertical movement.
Description
This invention relates to a horizontal circulation type of storage
equipment having a plurality of horizontal rows of pallets for
carrying an article, especially an automotive vehicle, on each
pallet in which the pallets are arranged in a manner to provide a
vacancy, at one end of each of the pallet rows so that successive
and alternate transfer of pallets in their longitudinal direction
(hereinafter to be referred to as longitudinal transfer) and in
their lateral direction (hereinafter to be referred to as lateral
transfer) in a manner to fill up such vacancies can move a desired
article carrying pallet to a predetermined station. More
specifically, this invention relates to a storage equipment of the
type described having efficient drive means for causing the
longitudinal and lateral transfer of pallets, lift means for use
with such equipment, and coupling means for coupling the pallets in
the form of a train. This invention further relates to a
plural-storied storage equipment comprising a stack of such storage
equipments.
Vehicle parking apparatus of merry-go-round type, elevator type,
elevator crane type and other types have heretofore been proposed
in the art and put into practical use. However, all these prior
vehicle parking apparatus have been defective in that they are
expensive due to complex structure and have a low degree of space
availability, that is, a great deal of dead spaces are involved
therein. They have been further defective in that they have a low
degree of safety in operation in view of their mechanism and a
large power requirement is inevitable with such apparatus.
In an effort to eliminate these and other defects of the prior
parking apparatus, a horizontal circulation type of vehicle storage
equipment has been recently proposed which has a plurality of
horizontal rows of pallets for carrying an automative vehicle on
each pallet and in which the pallets are arranged in a manner to
provide a vacancy at one end of each of the pallet rows so that
successive and alternate transfer of pallets in their longitudinal
and lateral directions, that is, longitudinal and lateral transfer
in a manner to fill up the vacancies can move a desired vehicle
carrying pallet to a predetermined station. While this horizontal
circulation type of storage equipment has had excellent effects of
eliminating the defects involved in the prior parking apparatus as
described above, it has been still insufficient in its operation
and there has been a demand for improvements in the structure and
operation of this type of equipment.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide
lateral transfer and longitudinal transfer means preferably used
with such horizontal circulation type of storage equipment.
Another object of the invention is to provide pallet shifting means
preferably used with a case in which the vehicle entrance is
disposed at a position remote from the pallet rows.
A further object of the invention is to provide suitable means for
providing communication between floor stages when such horizontal
circulation type of storage equipments are stacked up to have a
plurality of stories.
Another object of the invention is to provide means for coupling
the pallets in the form of a train.
These and other objects of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description with reference to the
accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the basic principle of
operation of a horizontal circulation type of storage equipment to
which the present invention is directed, FIG. 1A showing the state
of lateral transfer and FIG. 1B showing the state of longitudinal
transfer.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a horizontal circulation type of storage
equipment equipped with the lateral transfer means and longitudinal
transfer means of the present invention and embodying the principle
shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a graphic representation of the relation between a speed
and a transferred distance in the lateral transfer means of the
present invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the lateral transfer means.
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a case in which only one lateral
transfer means is provided for each pallet row.
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of FIG. 8.
FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the longitudinal transfer means
embodying the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view showing the state of connection
between an endless chain and a rail.
FIG. 14 is a partly cut-away side elevational view of FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is an enlarged front elevational view of the longitudinal
transfer means.
FIG. 16 is a plan view of a horizontal circulation type of storage
equipment in which the vehicle entrance and exit is disposed at a
position remote from the pallet rows.
FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16, but showing the vehicle
entrance and exit disposed at a position different from that of
FIG. 16.
FIG. 18 is a plan view of a horizontal circulation type of storage
equipment in which lift means is disposed at a position spaced one
pallet pitch from the pallet row.
FIG. 19 is a front elevational view showing a two-storied structure
of horizontal circulation type of storage equipment.
FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view showing the coupled state
of adjacent pallets.
FIG. 21 is a front elevational view showing the coupled state of
pallets when a pallet is moved upwardly by the lift means.
FIG. 22 is a front elevational view showing the coupled state of
pallets when a pallet is moved downwardly by the lift means.
FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the position of the pallet coupling
mechanism in each floor in the two-storied structure of storage
equipment.
FIG. 24 is a general plan view of the two-storied storage equipment
equipped with a different kind of lift means.
FIG. 25 is a sectional front elevational view of part of FIG.
24.
FIG. 26 is a detailed plan view of the lift portion in FIG. 25.
FIG. 27 is a partly sectional detail view showing the engaged state
of a pallet and the lift means.
FIG. 28 is a general plan view of the two-storied storage equipment
in which a further different kind of lift means is disposed in the
pallet row.
FIG. 29 is a sectional side elevational view of FIG. 28 when the
vehicle entrance and exit is disposed on the upper floor.
FIG. 30 is a sectional side elevational view of FIG. 28 when the
vehicle entrance and exit is disposed on the lower floor.
FIG. 31 is a side elevational view of the lift means shown in FIG.
28.
FIG. 32 is a side elevational view showing the extended state of
the lift means in FIG. 31.
FIG. 33 is a front elevational view of FIG. 32.
FIG. 34 is a hydraulic circuit diagram used with the lift means
shown in FIG. 31.
FIG. 35 is a detailed perspective view of another form of the
pallet coupling mechanism.
FIG. 36 is an electrical circuit diagram of one form of stopping
means employed in the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the basic principle of the
horizontal circulation type of vehicle storage equipment in which
it will be seen that vacancies corresponding to two pallet are
provided at symmetrical ends of two horizontally arranged pallet
rows and the pallets are successively and alternately transferred
in their lateral direction as shown in FIG. 1A and in their
longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 1B so that a desired pallet
can be brought to a predetermined station.
At first, drive means for the lateral transfer will be described
with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. Vehicle carrying pallets 1 are
arranged two horizontally parallel rows with eight pallets in each
row, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and any two corner
positions at symmetrical ends of the two pallet rows are left
vacant. Drive means for causing the lateral transfer of the pallets
1 arranged in the manner as described above is substantially
centrally positioned below a pallet 1" being the second one from
each end of each pallet row and includes drive gearings 3, 3'
having respective links 2, 2' operatively associated therewith.
These drive means are simultaneously driven from a drive source 10
through connecting shafts 4, 5, 6, direction changing gearings 7, 8
and a reduction gearing 9.
Driving engagement between the above-described drive system and the
pallets 1 is attained by guide grooves 11, 12 provided at the lower
part of the pallets in parallel with the length of the pallets and
at right angles with respect to the direction of lateral transfer
and guide rollers 13, 13' rotatably mounted on opposite ends of the
links 2, 2', as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. More precisely, the guide
rollers 13 on one end of the links 2, 2' fit in the guide groove 11
on an end pallet 1', while the guide rollers 13' on the other end
of the links 2, 2' fit in the guide groove 12 on an adjacent pallet
1', which guide groove 12 is spaced from the guide groove 11 a
distance corresponding to a transfer distance L in one lateral
transfer stroke as best shown in FIG. 6. When therefore the links
2, 2' are simultaneously rotated in the directions as shown by
arrows, the guide rollers 13 impart to the pallet row a rectilinear
movement in the direction of lateral transfer while rolling on the
guide faces of the guide grooves 11, and thus 180.degree. rotation
of these links 2, 2' can advance the pallets by the distance L of
one stroke.
Accordingly, the moving speed of the pallet 1 during one stroke of
movement from starting to stopping varies in a sine curve fashion
as shown in FIG. 5. It is thus possible to attain an ideal speed
control without any provision of special control mechanism on the
drive source as with prior apparatus. The fact that the starting
and stopping points of the pallet 1 exactly correspond to the dead
points in the sine curve provides great advantages of reduction in
the abrupt starting load, alleviation of shock during travel of the
pallet and freedom from any damage on an automotive vehicle mounted
on the pallet 1.
In the prior storage equipment, it has been necessary to provide a
large capacity brake means on the drive source to ensure positive
stoppage of the pallet 1 at a fixed position at the end of its
traveling movement. According to the drive mechanism of the present
invention, however, the desired purpose can be attained by
provision of a stopping brake means of remarkably small capacity
because of the fact that the stopping position corresponds to the
dead point of the sine curve as described previously and the load
from an automotive vehicle and the pallet 1 carrying the vehicle
thereon is almost zero at such point.
Wheels 14 freely rotatable in the direction of lateral transfer may
be provided at the lower part of each pallet and arranged to make
rolling movement on stationary rails 15, 15' parallelly disposed on
the foundation in order to ensure smooth movement of the pallets in
their lateral direction.
When it is desired to effect the lateral transfer of the pallets 1
in the directions of arrows or counterclockwise, the links 2 and 2'
in each pallet row may be simultaneously rotated in the directions
of arrows and the rotation of the links 2 and 2' in the above
directions can be easily attained by the operation of the drive
system comprising the elements 3 to 9.
The above description has referred to the drive system for the
lateral transfer in which the guide rollers 13, 13' on opposite
ends of the links 2, 2' are arranged to engage in the guide grooves
11 on the pallets 1' on opposite ends of each pallet row and in the
guide grooves 12 on the adjacent pallets 1", respectively, as shown
in FIGS. 2 to 4. Consider one pallet row in the above arrangement,
then it will be readily seen that the link pair 2, 2' at one end of
the pallet row pulls one pallet while the other link pair at the
other end of the pallet row pushes all of the remaining pallets in
the row. It is therefore apparent that the pallets need not be
bound together by a mechanism such as couplers, and abutments 16,
for example, may be provided to transmit power to the adjacent
pallets.
However, by coupling the adjacent pallets by coupling means 34 and
35 as shown in FIG. 20, the pallet drive means need not be disposed
at such a position at which it engages with the guide grooves at
the lower part of the end pallet in each pallet row and at the
lower part of the second pallet adjacent to the above end pallet,
and such drive means may be disposed at any position in each pallet
row. Further, as will be apparent from FIG. 20, the coupling means
should have such a structure that they are coupled together in the
lateral transfer direction by the lateral transfer operation, while
they are not bound in the longitudinal transfer direction by the
longitudinal transfer operation being the other circulating
movement as will be described later.
It will further be understood that the links 2 and 2' need not be
arranged in two pairs in each pallet row and the desired function
of lateral transfer can be sufficiently accomplished by merely
disposing one pair of such links substantially centrally of each
pallet row. The disposition of one pair of links 2 and 2' in each
pallet row can simplify the pallet structure in that one of the
guide grooves 11 and 12 may be provided at the lower part of each
pallet so that it receives therein the guide rollers 13 and 13' at
both ends of each of the links 2 and 2'. Further, reduction of the
number of the links 2 and 2' to one-half of the previous number can
also simplify the overall structure of the drive system which leads
to an inexpensive equipment.
An embodiment of such simplified equipment is shown in FIGS. 8 to
10 in which it will be seen that the overall structure of the drive
system therefor is substantially similar to that in the embodiment
shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 but one pair of links 2, 2' for each pallet
row and a guide groove 11 on one pallet and a guide groove 12 on an
adjacent pallet suffice although coupling means 34 and 35 as shown
in FIG. 20 are required. Like reference numerals are used in FIGS.
8 to 10 to denote like parts of the drive system appearing in FIGS.
2 to 4 and any detailed explanation as to such parts are omitted
herein.
Longitudinal transfer indicates such mode of operation in which
pallets at opposite ends of each pallet row are transferred in the
direction at right angles with respect to the direction of lateral
transfer described above. In other words, as will be apparent from
the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the longitudinal transfer
is a transfer operation by which a pallet at one end of one pallet
row is transferred to a vacant portion at one end of the other
pallet row.
The longitudinal transfer will now be described in detail with
reference to FIGS. 11 to 15. The drive system for the longitudinal
transfer includes a plurality of movable rails 19 which are
disposed at the position of the end pallet in each pallet row in a
manner to lie on the extensions of the stationary rails 15 and 15'
on which the wheels 14 at the lower part of each pallet make
rolling movement during the lateral transfer of the pallet train.
The movable rails 19 lie in the same plane as that of the
stationary rails 15 and 15', but are slightly spaced therefrom and
have such dimensions that one pallet at the end of each pallet row
can sufficiently ride thereonto.
A pair of wheels 20 are provided at the lower part of each end of
the movable rail 19 so that these wheels 20 can smoothly roll on
guide rails 21 and 21' disposed in the direction of longitudinal
transfer. Suppose in FIGS. 11 and 12 that the stationary rails 15
and 15' for each pallet row have a center-to-center distance l and
the opposite stationary rails for the adjacent pallet rows have a
center-to-center distance l.sub.1. Then, the movable rails 19a, 19h
are arranged to provide an alternate series of dimensions l and
l.sub. 1 as shown, and where there are two pallet rows, the movable
rails are fixed on a pair of endless chains 22 and 22' having such
a length as to permit arrangement of eight movable rails in the
above series. Where there are more than two pallet rows, the number
of movable rails can be determined by the formula, (number of
pallet rows .times. 2) .times. 2.
Further as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the movable rails 19a, 19h are
adjustably fixed to the endless chains 22 and 22' by means of
adjusting plates 23 and 24 having a plurality of teeth cut at right
angles with respect to the direction of longitudinal transfer so
that the movable rails can be accurately fixed with the spacings l
and l.sub.1 therebetween. Positive meshing engagement of the
adjusting plates 23 and 24 is effective to prevent any displacement
of the movable rails 19a, 19h relative to the endless chains 22 and
22' during the longitudinal transfer operation for thereby ensuring
the accurate maintenance of the spacings l and l.sub. 1.
The endless chains 22 and 22' having the movable rails 19a - - - ,
19h fixedly mounted thereon are driven from a drive source or motor
27 through a reduction gearing 26 and sprocket wheels 25 to move in
the direction of longitudinal transfer while the movable rails 19
make advancing movement on the guide rails 21 and 21'.
The drive means having a structure as described above are disposed
on opposite ends of the pallet rows and are actuated so that a
pallet 1' fed onto the movable rails 19c and 19d at one end of one
pallet row by the previously described lateral transfer can be
transferred to the vacant portion at one end of the other pallet
row by a distance corresponding to the center-to-center distance
l.sub. 2 of the adjacent pallet rows. The above operation is
simultaneously performed at opposite ends of the pallet rows, but
the direction of longitudinal transfer at one end of the pallet
rows is opposite to that at the other end as shown in FIG. 2. Since
the movable rails 19a, 19h on the endless chains 22 and 22' are
arranged to have alternate spacings of l and l.sub. 1, the
succeeding movable rails 19e and 19f come to a position at which
they register with the stationary rails 15 and 15' at the end
portion of the pallet row from which the pallet is removed by the
longitudinal transfer. Thus the movable rails 19e and 19f are ready
to receive thereon a pallet to be transferred by the lateral
transfer. It will thus be understood that two operations, lateral
transfer and longitudinal transfer, can be alternately and
continuously effected by disposing the movable rails 19a, 19h in
the manner as described above.
During the longitudinal transfer, the pallet 1' moves away from the
pallet row to which it formerly belongs. However, as shown in FIG.
2, the longitudinal movement of the pallet 1' is guided by the
guide groove 11 at the lower part thereof and the guide rollers 13
at one end of the links 2 and 2' of the drive means for lateral
transfer. Therefore the pallet 1' can be successfully transferred
without disengaging from the movable rails 19c and 19d.
On the other hand, in case the drive means for lateral transfer is
disposed at the center of each pallet row, the end pallet 1' is
disconnected from an adjacent pallet 1" due to the longitudinal
transfer of the former and the pallet 1' on the movable rails 19c
and 19d is free to move in the direction of lateral transfer and
may fall off from the movable rails 19c and 19d because there is no
means for restricting such objectionable movement of the pallet 1'.
The above problem can be easily solved by providing simple stoppers
on the moveable rails 19a, 19h. One form of such stopper means is
illustrated in FIG. 15, in which it will be seen that wedge-like
stoppers 28 and 29 are provided to ensure positive transfer in the
lateral transfer operation of the pallet 1' onto the movable
rails.
In the horizontal circulation type of vehicle storage equipment
described above, the parking equipment in FIGS. 2 and 8 can be used
in its existing form where the vehicle entrance is located at
either end or an intermediate portion of the pallet rows so that an
automotive vehicle can directly ride onto one of the pallets. When
however the vehicle entrance is located at a position remote from
the pallet rows in the parking equipment or when the vehicle
entrance is so directed that an automotive vehicle can not directly
ride onto one of the pallets, it has heretofore been necessary with
prior parking apparatus to provide special transfer means
independently of transfer means in the parking apparatus so as to
guide the pallet from the vehicle entrance into the parking
apparatus. According to the present invention, the purpose can be
easily attained by mere affixing of simple means as will be
described later to part of the drive system in the parking
equipment.
A few forms of the equipment suitable for use with such situation
are illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17. Suppose that the vehicle
entrance is spaced several pallet widths (two pallet widths in the
case of FIG. 16) from one end of one pallet row. To effectively
deal with such a case, stationary rails 30 and 31' extending to the
vehicle entrance may be provided to transfer the pallets to the
vehicle entrance and the pallet row on the vehicle entrance side
may be continuously moved through several strokes in the direction
of lateral transfer. However, operation of the lateral transfer
means in their previously described state is undesirable because
that pallet row which has no relation with the vehicle entrance is
simultaneously driven and the pallets in that row will drop off
from the rails due to the fact that a plurality of pallet rows are
simultaneously driven by a single drive source.
In order to prevent such drop-off, the pallet row on the vehicle
entrance side may be solely driven. To do this, releasably
connecting means 31 such as clutch means or gear means may be
provided between a direction changing gearing 8 and a drive shaft
5' for links 2" and 2"' driving that pallet row which has no
relation with the vehicle entrance. More precisely, when the drive
system is driven with the means 31 held in its released state,
power from a drive source 10 is transmitted to a drive shaft 5
through a reduction gearing 9 and direction changing gearing 8 to
cause rotation solely of links 2 and 2' so that the pallet row on
the vehicle entrance side is solely driven. On the other hand, the
pallet row having no relation with the vehicle entrance is not
driven and there is no drop-off of the pallets from the rails
because the links 2" and 2"' are prevented from rotating.
In connection with the above operation, some difficulty arises from
the use of stopping means for a case in which one of the pallet
rows is solely driven since the stopping means is primarily adapted
for use in the case of simultaneous drive of both the pallet rows.
In such a case, since the load on the drive source or motor 10 for
the lateral transfer is reduced to one-half of the normal load, the
stopped position differs from that when both the pallet rows are
simultaneously driven and such poor accuracy of the stopped
position gives rise to a trouble in the succeeding operation.
Further it is easily inferable from the above description that
difficulty is encountered in the adjustment in an effort to obtain
accuracy of the stopped position for both the case in which one of
the pallet rows is solely driven and the case in which both the
pallet rows are simultaneously driven.
The above difficulty can be solved by providing a stopping means on
the drive means 2, 2', 5, 8, 9 and 10 (hereinafter to be referred
to as first drive means) for the lateral transfer of one of the
pallet rows so that this stopping means can stop the first drive
means and by providing a stopping means on the drive means 2", 2"',
5', 8, 9 and 10 (hereinafter to be referred to as second drive
means) so that these stopping means cooperate to stop the first and
second drive means when both the pallet rows are simultaneously
driven for the lateral transfer. It will be understood, however,
that the effect similar to above can be obtained by providing a
stopping means for use in the simultaneous drive of both the drive
means. Such stopping means may be provided independently of the
stopping means on each drive means as described above. By the
provision of the above stopping means, it is possible to ensure
accuracy of stopping in the lateral transfer and facilitate the
adjustment in both of the case in which the first drive means is
solely placed in operation and the case in which both the first and
second drive means are placed in operation.
An embodiment of such stopping means will be described in detail
with reference to FIG. 36. A circuit shown in FIG. 36 includes a dc
power supply (+), (-), a left-hand rotation relay 111 for a lateral
transfer drive motor and a right-hand rotation relay 112 for a
lateral transfer drive motor. A contact 111Aa of left-hand rotation
command relay (not shown) energizes the relay 111 and opens after
energization of the relay 111. Contacts C10.sub.a1 and C10.sub.a2
are arranged to close when the releasable connecting means 31 such
as clutch means or gear means is in its actuated state, that is,
when both the first and second drive means are in operation, and
open when the releasable connecting means 31 is in its released
state, that is, when the first drive means is solely in operation.
Contacts C10.sub.b1 and C10.sub.b2 are arranged to open when the
releasable connecting means 31 is in its actuated state and close
when the means 31 is in its released state. HLP.sub.1 and HRP.sub.1
are contacts of limit switches provided on the second drive means
and these contacts are arranged to open when the second drive means
makes its left-hand rotation or right-hand rotation to transfer the
pallets in the lateral direction to the predetermined position.
HLP.sub.2 and HRP.sub.2 are contacts of limit switches provided on
the first drive means and these contacts are arranged to open when
the first drive means makes its left-hand or right-hand rotation to
transfer the pallets in the lateral direction to the predetermined
position. By the opening of these contacts, the relays 111 and 112
are deenergized to stop rotation of the lateral transfer drive
motor. Those contacts having suffix a represent make or normally
open contacts of corresponding relays, while those contacts having
suffix b represent break or normally closed contacts of
corresponding relays.
The stopping means operates in the following manner: When both the
first and second drive means are placed in operation for right-hand
rotation, the contact 112Aa of right-hand rotation command relay is
closed to complete a circuit (+) - 112Aa - 111b - 112 - (-) whereby
the right-hand rotation relay 112 for lateral transfer motor is
energized. The relay 112 is urged to its self-holding state by the
contact 112a thereof through a circuit (+) - 112a - C10.sub.a2 -
HRP.sub.1 - 111b - 112 - (-) whereby the motor starts its rotation.
When the pallets are moved to the predetermined position, the
contact HRP.sub.1 is opened to deenergize the relay 112 so that the
motor 10 is stopped. It will be understood that the stopping
position can be easily adjusted by adjusting the limit switch
HRP.sub.1.
When the first drive means is solely driven for right-hand
rotation, the contact 112Aa of right-hand rotation command relay is
closed to complete a circuit (+) - 112Aa - 111b - 112 - (-) whereby
the right-hand rotation relay 112 for lateral transfer motor is
energized. The relay 112 is urged to its self-holding state by the
contact 112b thereof through a circuit (+) - 112a - C10b.sub.2 -
HRP.sub.2 - 111b - 112 - (-) whereby the motor starts its rotation.
When the pallets are moved to the predetermined position, the
contact HRP.sub.2 is opened to deenergize the relay 112 so that the
motor 10 is stopped. It will be understood that the stopping
position can be easily adjusted by adjusting the limit switch
HRP.sub.2 and this adjustment can be done independently of the
adjustment of the limit switch HRP.sub.1 described previously. Thus
the lateral transfer motor 10 can be stopped by the limit switch
HRP.sub.1 when both the first and second drive means are placed in
operation and by the limit switch HRP.sub.2 when the first drive
means is solely placed in operation. It is therefore possible to
improve the accuracy of stopping through adjustment depending on
load conditions for each drive means and this adjustment can be
easily done. In left-hand rotation, the limit switches HLP.sub.1
and HLP.sub.2 are operated to attain an effect similar to the case
of right-hand rotation.
Circulating movement of the pallets in the parking equipment can be
effected by urging the means 31 to its actuated state. Thus the
releasable connecting means 31 such as clutch means or gear means
may merely be urged to its actuated or released state to effect
circulating movement of the pallets or transfer of the pallets to
the vehicle entrance, and such operations may be automatically done
if so required.
In FIG. 16 description has been given with regard to the case in
which the drive means for lateral transfer is located at the center
of each pallet row. However it will be readily understood that the
above manner of operation is applicable to the equipment having the
drive means for lateral transfer located adjacent to opposite ends
of each pallet row as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, in which case a
releasable connecting means similar to that shown in FIG. 16 may be
used to connect the drive means for the pallet rows and arrangement
of the drive shafts may be slightly varied to attain the similar
effect.
Where the vehicle entrance is disposed at such a position that an
automotive vehicle coming therein can not directly ride onto a
pallet, direction changing means 32 such as a turntable may be
additionally provided adjacent to the pallet to provide an
efficient parking equipment, as seen in FIG. 17.
The foregoing description has referred to a one-storied parking
equipment of horizontal circulation type, but a space which can
accommodate automative vehicles in a plurality of stories in a
three-dimensional fashion is usually available under the ground
level or above the highest floor of a building.
The following description will be directed to a plural-storied
parking equipment comprising horizontal circulation type of vehicle
storage equipment stacked in tiers of more than two stories and
having lift means affixed thereto.
When the horizontal circulation type of storage equipments are
stacked in tiers of more than two stories, a problem arises as to
how the storage equipments may be interrelated with lift means
which carries pallets to a vehicle entrance and exit. For example,
when the lift means is disposed at one end or at an intermediate
position of a pallet row, storage equipments at other stories will
become a hinderance with the result that vertical movement of the
lift means becomes impossible. Therefore the lift means must be
located for vertical movement at a position outside of the pallet
rows.
In an embodiment as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, lift means 33 may be
disposed at a position displaced at least one pallet width from one
end of a pallet row so that a pallet on the lift 33 is free to make
vertical movement with the lift 33 without contacting the storage
equipment at the other story. A drive system similar to that
described previously may be employed to transfer a pallet from the
storage equipment onto the lift 33. More precisely, clutch means or
gear means 31 similar to that shown in FIG. 16 may merely be
interposed between a direction changing gearing 8 and a drive shaft
5' for driving a pair of links 2" and 2"' so that the pallet row on
the lift side can be solely driven and transfer of pallets onto the
lift 33 can be easily realized. Since further the circulating
movement of pallets in the storage equipment and transfer movement
of pallets onto the lift 33 can be continuously and automatically
effected, vertical movement of the lift 33 may be arranged to occur
in interengaging relation with the above movement so that transfer
of pallets from the vehicle entrance and exit into the storage
equipment and vice versa can be fully automatically done.
The lift means 33 will be described in detail with reference to
FIGS. 18 and 19. The lift means 33 comprises sprocket wheels 103
and 104 supported at opposite ends of a support column 105, a chain
102 trained about each pair of sprocket wheels 103 and 104, a frame
member 101 having opposite ends of the chains 102 fixed thereto,
and a pallet carriage 100 secured to the frame member 101. The
lower sprocket wheels 104 are arranged to be driven by a motor 107
so that the frame member 101 and pallet carriage 100 can be
vertically moved by the chains 102 as shown by two-dot chain lines
for thereby bringing a pallet to a desired position. Reference
numeral 106 denotes a counterweight for reducing the driving power
of the motor 107, and numeral 108 denotes walls of building
structure.
In connection with the above storage equipment, it is necessary
that coupling means between pallets has such a structure that
pallets can be coupled with each other in their lateral transfer
direction while they are free to move in their longitudinal
transfer as well as vertical transfer direction. One form of such
coupling means is illustrated in FIG. 20 in which it will be seen
that one or two U-shaped coupling members 34 are provided at one
end of each pallet and one or two inverted U-shaped coupling
members 35 are provided at the opposite end of the pallet so that,
when they are engaged with each other, a train of pallets can be
coupled in the direction of lateral transfer while these pallets
are free to move in the direction of longitudinal transfer.
Vertical movement of pallets may be discussed in two cases, that
is, a case in which the vehicle entrance and exit is positioned at
the uppermost part of a plural-storied parking equipment and a case
in which it is positioned at the lowermost part of such equipment.
Where the vehicle entrance and exit is disposed at the uppermost
part, the coupling member 35 for coupling with the coupling member
34 on an adjacent pallet may have an inverted U-shape as shown in
FIG. 21, while where the vehicle entrance and exit is disposed at
the lowermost part, the coupling member 34 for coupling with the
coupling member 35 on an adjacent pallet may have a U-shape as
shown in FIG. 22.
Further if the coupling members 34 and 35 on the pallets are
mounted at the same positions for all of the pallets on every
stories, vertical movement of the lift 33 carrying a pallet thereon
will result in collision of the coupling members on such pallet
with the coupling members on pallets on other stories and thus
gives rise to a trouble in lift operation. Therefore it is
advisable that the position of the coupling members on the pallets
on one story relative to the position of the coupling members on
the pallets on another story should be displaced as shown by A and
B in FIG. 23.
When it is desired to provide a one-story vehicle storage equipment
under the ground level of a building or on the top of a building
and to carry automative vehicles to the vehicle entrance and exit
by lift means, provision of the lift means outside of the parking
equipment as shown in FIG. 18 will result in a small number of
vehicles that can be accommodated and thus in poor space utility.
It is therefore advantageous to dispose the lift means at one end
or at an intermediate position of a pallet row in case such
one-story vehicle storage equipment is under consideration.
Description will first be given with regard to a case in which the
lift means is disposed at one end of a pallet row and vehicle
storage equipment is disposed underground with the vehicle entrance
and exit positioned thereabove.
In FIGS. 24 to 27 there is shown an embodiment of such vehicle
storage equipment. Lift means in this case comprises a lift cage 36
consisting of four columns a, b, c and d and drive means therefor.
The four columns a, b, c and d forming the lift cage 36 are
disposed outside of a pallet 1 as will be apparent from FIG. 25 and
have respective arms a', b', c' and d' inwardly extending from the
lower ends thereof in a manner to underlie the lower face of the
pallet 1 in every direction. By virtue of the above structure,
movement of the pallet 1 in the direction of lateral as well as
longitudinal transfer does not give rise to contact between the
pallet 1 and the lift cage 36 so that circulating movement of the
pallets can be unobstructedly repeated.
In lift operation of the pallet 1, the pallet 1 is brought to stop
at the position of the lift cage 36. A drive source 37 for driving
the lift cage 36 is then placed in operation to drive the lift cage
36 together with the pallet 1 through a reduction gearing 38,
sprocket wheels 39 and 39' and endless chains 40. As shown in FIG.
27, a projection 41 is provided on each arm and is arranged to fit
in a corresponding recess on the lower face of the pallet 1 to
prevent the pallet 1 from dropping off from the lift cage 36.
Although description has been given with respect to the embodiment
having the lift cage 36 disposed at one end of a pallet row, lift
means similar to the above may be disposed at an intermediate
position of such pallet row. Such lift means may, for example,
comprise support columns erected in close proximity to opposite
ends of a pallet, endless chains mounted on these columns, pallet
engaging lugs provided on these chains, and drive means for causing
vertical movement of the chains so that the four corners of a
pallet can be engaged by the engaging lugs and the pallet can
thereby be moved upwardly. However, it is to be understood that
this arrangement is solely applicable to a one-story storage
equipment.
Various other kinds of lift means may be used for the operation,
but the lift means described above has great advantages in that it
has a simple structure and its traveling distance can be freely
selected by merely varying the length of the chain 40.
In FIGS. 28 to 33, there is shown an embodiment which is preferred
for use with a case in which lift means is disposed at an
intermediate position of a pallet row. Where the vehicle entrance
and exit is disposed above vehicle storage equipment as shown in
FIG. 29, lift means 42 may merely be provided at the flat of the
storage equipment, but where the vehicle entrance and exit is
disposed below vehicle storage equipment as shown in FIG. 30,
stationary rails for the lateral transfer should be cut off at that
portion corresponding to the position of lift means 42 so as to
avoid contact of the lift means 42 and the pallet 1 during lift
operation and rails 43 and 43' may be provided on the lift 42 so
that circulating movement of the pallets in the storage equipment
can be carried out without any trouble.
There are various kinds of lift means, but description will be
herein given with regard to the vehicle storage equipment when it
is combined with a hydraulic lift which has a simple structure. As
shown in FIGS. 31, 32 and 33, a hydraulic lift 42 herein employed
comprises links 44, 45, 46 and 47 assembled in a pantagraph-like
fashion to support thereon a carriage 53, a frame 48 supporting the
linkage, a hydraulic cylinder 49 swingably mounted on the frame 48,
a lift lever 51 having one end thereof connected to the end of a
piston rod 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 49 and having the other end
thereof pivotally connected to the frame 48, and a roller 52
mounted on the lever 51 so as to make rolling movement along the
lower face of the link 47. Advancing movement of the piston rod 50
urges the lift lever 51 and causes rolling movement of the roller
52 mounted on the lever 51 along the lower face of the link 47 to
force the links 44, 45, 46 and 47 upwardly.
By virtue of the above structure, a shallow depth of a pit required
for installation of the lift means suffices and a long lift stroke
can be obtained in spite of a short piston stroke. A further
advantage is derivable from the fact that the power required for
the cylinder is substantially constant and the cylinder suitable
for the purpose can be easily selected, thus giving an improved
efficiency.
A simple hydraulic circuit C as shown in FIG. 34 can be
sufficiently used for the operation of the hydraulic lift described
above, but a hydraulic circuit D is provided in addition to the
circuit C to deal with interruption of electric supply and failure
of hydraulic equipment so that automative vehicles can be carried
outwardly by means of a hand pump.
In the hydraulic circuit C, a pump 203 is driven by a motor 202 to
take suction of hydraulic fluid from a fluid reservoir 200 by way
of a strainer 201 and a conduit 207, and the hydraulic fluid under
pressure is forced by way of a conduit 208, check valve 204,
conduit 209, changeover valve 206 (which is urged in a direction of
dotted line by an electromagnet SOL), conduit 210, check valve 205
and conduit 211 into the cylinder 49 to urge the piston rod 50 in
the right-hand or advancing direction. By this movement of the
piston rod 50, the carriage 53 is forced upwardly by the
afore-described linkage for thereby bringing the pallet 1
upwardly.
In pallet lowering operation, the change-over valve 206 is urged in
a direction of solid line to permit flow of hydraulic fluid under
pressure from the conduit 209 into a conduit 218 to urge open the
check valve 205. By the opening of the check valve 205, the
hydraulic fluid under pressure in the cylinder 49 flows back into a
reservoir 214 by way of the change-over valve 206, conduit 212 and
flow restriction valve 213 for thereby causing lowering movement of
the carriage 53. The speed of downward movement of the carriage 53
can be adjusted by suitable manipulation of the flow restriction
valve 213.
In the hydraulic circuit D, a manual valve 219 may be opened and a
hand pump 216 may be driven to force the hydraulic fluid in the
reservoir 200 through a strainer 217 and conduits 215 and 211 into
the cylinder 49 for thereby causing upward movement of the carriage
53. The carriage 53 can be lowered by merely turning the hand pump
216 in the opposite direction.
The hydraulic lift described above may be disposed at one end of a
pallet row, in which case the lift may be disposed below the
longitudinal transfer means so as to engage the lower face of a
pallet to lift it upwardly. This arrangement, however, has a
limitation in its distance of lift and therefore it is impossible
to take a long lift stroke.
When the lift is disposed at an intermediate position of a pallet
row, coupling means between adjacent pallets becomes more complex
than when the lift is disposed at one end of the pallet row. More
precisely, in case the lift is disposed at one end or outside of a
pallet row, relative positions of the coupling members 34 and 35 of
the shapes as shown in FIG. 20 may merely be varied because a
pallet on the lift is coupled to an adjacent pallet only at one
side thereof. However, the coupling members 34 and 35 of such
shapes can not be used when the lift is disposed at the
intermediate position of the pallet row since a pallet on the lift
is coupled to adjacent pallets on opposite sides thereof.
Coupling means shown in FIG. 35 is devised to solve the above
problem. More precisely, as shown in FIG. 35, a plate 54 is
fastened to one side of a pallet 1 by bolts 55 and an inverted
U-shaped frame 56 is secured to this plate 54 by welding. This
frame 56 is provided with a cut-out 57 in which a plate-like frame
59 secured to an adjacent pallet (not shown) by a rod 58 makes
vertical movement to release the coupling between the pallets.
Therefore the adjacent pallets can move in unitary relation for
lateral transfer but are disconnected from each other in case of
longitudinal or vertical transfer.
* * * * *